Batman and Bill is a documentary that will be available on Hulu on May 6th. (Just in time for Free Comic Book Day.) It’s about Bill Finger and how the writer has been discredited with the co-creation of Batman throughout his life. The documentary shines a light on Finger and his huge contribution to the Dark Knight and his origin. If you’re a Batman fan, you owe it to yourself to check out the very touching and sad documentary.
Documentaries can take a long time to film. You can see the process as you witness Marc Tyler Nobleman’s journey of getting justice for Bill Finger. (You can see Nobleman’s daughter grow up throughout the course of the film.) His crusade is pretty crazy. He is like Bruce Wayne/Batman, a regular guy who is passionate about doing what’s right and putting in the time for the detective work.
In Batman and Bill, you will get to hear about Finger’s history, his family, and his struggles. You really get to appreciate one of the men behind one of the most iconic characters in history. Now that I hear his name, I have a better understanding of his importance in the creation of Batman. Just knowing what he had to go through hit me hard. (I teared up during the film.) Many will know the end result for Bill Finger’s justice, as you can see from watching Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice or Fox’s Gotham. However, few will know how crazy and emotional the journey was. Nobleman had to find a living heir to help convince DC/Warner Bros to credit Finger as the co-creator of Batman. The way Finger passed and how he missed out on all the recognition was tragic.
With Marc Tyler Nobleman being the hero of the film, there’s also a “villain”. The antagonist, for me at least, is the other creator of Batman, Bob Kane. While Finger has been relatively unknown to Batman fans, Kane has been selfish with taking sole credit. One creator gets famous and wealthy; the other poor and invisible.
Finger was paraphrased in Jerry Bails’ 1965 piece, “If the Truth Be Known or ‘A Finger in Every Plot!'” It was the first time fans knew that there was another who helped create Batman.
Kane fired back in a letter to fans:
“I, Bob Kane, am the sole creator of Batman.”
Kane has discredited Finger all the way up to Finger’s death. He did regret it later on and admitted that Finger had a big hand in the creation of Batman.
There is some good in the end. This helped with giving Finger the official credit in film and comic books. (Even if it’s decades after his death.)
If you’re a Batman fan, I recommend that you watch Batman and Bill. The way the filmmakers tell the story is engaging, thanks to a collection of interviews and motion comics. You really get a sense of the times and a feel of how things were back then.
Rating: 4.5/5 Atoms
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